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Former district attorney Daly dies: He served Fresno Co. as deputy public defender as well.
(Fresno Bee (CA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 4--William Crawford Daly, a former Fresno County district attorney and deputy public defender, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. He was 78.
Mr. Daly was elected district attorney in 1968 and served until June 1973. He resigned under pressure after he was investigated by the California Attorney General's Office for possible criminal misconduct. No charges were filed.
While district attorney, Mr. Daly led a campaign to rid county theaters of pornographic movies and books, though the effort resulted in few convictions. He later became a private attorney and joined the Fresno County Public Defender's Office in 1978 to handle major criminal cases. He left the public defender's office about a decade later, said his granddaughter, Meghan Wilson.
Mr. Daly's son, David Daly, said Thursday that his father was involved in the First Congregational Church near Fresno City College. He also was involved in the Fresno Pony Club, along with his children and grandchildren.
"He was a very easygoing person and always willing to help people," David Daly said. "He never knew a stranger. Everybody came to him for advice."
As Mr. Daly's health deteriorated, Wilson cared for him "through thick and thin," David Daly said.
Mr. Daly is survived by his son, his daughter, Alicia Vogland, his granddaughter, and his grandson, Andrew Wilson. His wife, Peggy Pheley, also died of cancer.
Mr. Daly was born in San Diego on Aug. 18, 1929, and was raised in Fresno. He graduated from Fresno High School in 1947 and from then-Fresno State College in 1952. He earned his law degree from Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1957.
He was later hired by the Fresno County District Attorney's Office and was promoted to assistant district attorney in 1962. He successfully ran for district attorney in 1968.
Mr. Daly was named president of the San Joaquin Valley District Attorneys Association in 1972.
In June 1973, The Fresno Bee reported that the California Attorney General's Office was investigating Mr. Daly for possible misconduct. According to news reports, a California Highway Patrol officer spotted Mr. Daly in his county-issued car in an orchard near Ashlan Avenue and Highway 99 with an unidentified 17- or 18-year-old boy inside the car. After Mr. Daly drove off and was chased by the officer, he eventually pulled over and was searched, but was not arrested.
The Attorney General's Office also looked into allegations that Mr. Daly had tried to bribe a "private patrolman" with $200, The Bee reported.
The Attorney General's Office concluded that there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges. Mr. Daly insisted the allegations were false but resigned June 19, 1973.
The reporter can be reached at ccollins@fresnobee.com or(559) 441-6412.
To see more of The Fresno Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fresnobee.com
Copyright (c) 2008, The Fresno Bee, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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